Don't know if its been covered,but, it may be slightly more insulative,BUT, it is certainly NOT a good enough insulator for a oven....There are proven methods,mainly ceramic fiber insulators that are used for a reason, they work...If you havn't built a oven before I suggest that you look at the Pompei Forno Bravo plans...A lot of work and money goes into these things and it would be a shame if you went through it all only to find it was a dud..just sayin..

Don't know if its been covered,but, it may be slightly more insulative,BUT, it is certainly NOT a good enough insulator for a oven....There are proven methods,mainly ceramic fiber insulators that are used for a reason, they work...If you havn't built a oven before I suggest that you look at the Pompei Forno Bravo plans...A lot of work and money goes into these things and it would be a shame if you went through it all only to find it was a dud..just sayin..

Gudday thick strings
I agree that there are better insulation options that are cheaper and more readily available than lava rock. But if that's what you have ,why not . Check out Lancers Phillipino build in the Australian section. He is using what is locally available. He is using plumice for insulation local fired brick for the dome and will slake his own lime for the homebrew mortar.
I say good on him, the most important thing is that he will be able to produce a viable oven still using the forno methods.
Regards dave

Dave, that is a fantastic build by Lancer and I applaud his determination in getting the job done. I for one am all about using what you have....[ redneck engineer] I was congratulated once here by the locals for using a tupperware bowl as a roof vent shroud. This guy, I assume, is talking about the rock that one would put in a gas grill.....not pumice....He lives in Chicago..a major U.S. pizza city , urban sprall 90 miles in all directions.The right stuff IS available... Local Chicago joke....Why are all the [fill in the blank] leaving the city?.......They think Mount Prospect is gonna blow... Mt. Prospect is a NW suburb, not a volcano... P.S. I don't know Brisbane from Perth....

No part of this website or content thereof may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, nor may any part of this website be stored in a database or other electronic retrieval system, or any other website, without the prior written permission of Forno Bravo.